Stitching of materials



Dec. 16, 1969 M. N. BENNISON STITCHING OF MATERIALS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Aug. 7, 1967 INVENTOR:

Dec. 16, MW M. N. BENNISON 3,483,834

STITCHING OF MATERIALS Filed Aug. 7, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO R:

Ma Q/ ZM AM INVENTOR:

Dec. 16, 1969 M. N. BENNISON STITCHING OF MATERIALS Filed Aug. '7, 1967United States Patent 3,483,834 STilT ClilThlG OF P/IATERIALS MichaelNewstead Bennison, Bardsey, Leeds, England, assignor to W. .l. ClarksonLimited, Leeds, England, a British company Filed Aug. 7, 1967, Ser. No.658,726 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Sept. 19, 1956,41,628/ 66 int. Cl. D95?) 21/00 US. Cl. 112-12L15 7 Claims ABSTRACT UFTHE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for use in the shaping and then the stitchingon a sewing machine of a patch pocket to a garment part in which aslidable pocket shaping plate underlies a top retaining plate an isadapted to slide under a pocket, edge folding blades turn the pocketedge under the plate and then withdrawn followed by the shaping plate,the shaped and edge folded pocket is then overlaid on the garment partand retained by said top plate. This apparatus is carried by acontrollable work plate movable on a sewing machine in its own plane ina predetermined guided manner to suit the shape of the pocket which isstitched to the garment through the aforesaid top plate. A pocketpresentation plate is also described.

This invention relates to methods of, and means for, facilitating theshaping of a material part and then the stitching of such part toanother part or a garment.

In the manufacture of some articles, particularly articles of clothingto which patch pockets are to be stitched, the operations of shaping andthen stitching require skilled operatives to ensure a correct folding inof the pocket edges and then the stitching to provide a good appearanceand correct positioning of the pocket.

According to the present invention there is provided a method ofcontrolling the shaping and then stitching of a first material part toanother underlaid part or garment, consisting in locating the first partbetween an upper profiled retaining plate and a lower profiled shapingmeans, causing folding blade means to move inwardly to fold the edge ofsaid first part round the edge of and beneath the lower profiled shapingmeans, withdrawing such profiled shaping and folding means leaving anedge folded shaped first material part with its peripheral foldprojecting a profiled edge of said upper retaining plate, and stitchingsaid projecting folded edge to said underlaid part or garment.

The method may include controlling the associated material parts andtemplate by profiled track means to move in their own plane in therequired directions for stitching to be carried out around the profileof the retaining plate and through the folded edge of a first materialpart.

The invention includes apparatus for use in shaping and then stitching afirst material part to another underlaid part or garment, including atop retaining plate with a profiled edge, movable profiled first partshaping means beneath said plate, movable folding blade meanssurrounding the shaping means, means for moving the blade means towardsand under the shaping means to fold the edge of a first garment partunder the said shaping means to provide a shaped and underlapped edge,and means for withdrawing the shaping and folding means from the edgefold of said first garment part for allowing stitches to be insertedthrough the folded edge of said garment part projecting beyond theprofile of the retaining plate The invention will now be moreparticularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pocket stitching template at rest;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the template from below;

FIG. 3 is a part plan view from above of the edge folding means in aclosed position;

FIG. 4 is a part plan view from above of said edge folding means in awithdrawn position;

FIG. 5 is a part plan view from below of the template with the pocketshaping and folding means in an operative position;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a pocket for which the template is made;

FIG. 7 is a sectional elevation of the template and pocket presentationmeans;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of said presentation means; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a sewing machine with a template andpocket presentation means in position on the machine Worktable.

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention a template 1 isconstructed including a top garment pocket retaining plate 2 having astitching slot 3 whose profiled inner edge 3a is shaped to suit theshape of a pocket 4 (FIG. 6) which it is desired to form with anunderlapped edge 5 ready to be stitched to a garment. This plate 2 hastwo strips 6 on its underface each coated or otherwise furnished with amaterial gripping surface. Beneath this plate there is arranged amovable shaping plate 7 having a profile complementary to the profileedges of the slot 3 in the upper plate 2 and which projects slightlybeyond or at least covers, the slot 3 when in its shaping position shownin FIG. 5. This shaping plate 7 slides in the recessed area 8 formed inthe underface of the plate 2 and is operated by a piston 9 and cylinder10 which has pressurised fluid connections 11. The piston is connectedto a slide 12 which moves in a guide recess 13 in the upper face of theplate 2 and such slide is restricted in its return movement by a stoppiece 14. The cylinder 10 is anchored at 15 to a movable bar 16 which isprovided with a pair of forwardly extending arms 17 and capable ofrestricted movement in the underside recesses 13 of the top plate pivotbrackets 19 which carry the pivot spindle 20 by means of which thetemplate is pivotally mounted on a machine work table. The slide 12 issecured to the plate 7 by screws 21 which pass up through the guide slot22 in the top plate 2.

The template is provided with underneath pocket edge folding bladeswhich comprise two oppositely positioned side blades 23, arranged toslightly overlap the edges of the shaping plate 7, and a shaped endblade 24 under which the front V-shaped edge 25 of the plate 7 can passslightly or at least butt against. This end blade 24 has a complementaryV-shaped inner edge to suit the front edge of the plate 7. Also thefront corners 26 of the side blades 23 are folded up slightly tofacilitate the passage thereunder of the plate 7 when moving into itsoperative pocket shaping position. The edge and end blades are shownfolded over at 23a and 24a respectively on to the top face of the plate2 for convenience of attachment to operating means. The edge blades aresecured by the parts 23a to two pivotal frame members 27 which can swinginwardly and outwardly over the plate 2 about the pivot pins 28. Thesemembers have cam slots 29 at their front ends to receive upstandingpillars 30 which are secured to two small slides 31 recessed into thetop plate 2 and carrying the end blade 24 by means of the part 24a whichextends between the two said slides. The pillars pass up into theturned-in ends 32 of the aforesaid arms 17 extending from the rear crossbar 16. The aforesaid cam slots 29 have inner parallel ends 33 so thatthe end blade 24 has slight extra movement after the side blades 23 havemoved in, and slight initial retraction before the blades 23 move out.The slot 3 has U-shaped ends 34. This slot 3 is completely covered onthe underface of plate 2 by the shaping plate 7 when the latter is inits pocket shaping position (FIG. 5) but is completely exposed when suchplate is withdrawn and the folding blades 23 and 24 are retracted totheir open position (FIGS. 2 and 4).

In operation the template can be lifted up about the axis of itsmounting pivot rod 20 and a pocket 4 (top edge 4a first) located overthe shaping plate 7 which is of thin flexible metal or other material tofacilitate the insertion of the pocket between it and the under face ofthe top plate 2. When the template is so lifted the plate 7 flexesdownwardly about its rear end sufiiciently to allow the pocket to slideover it. The pocket may be inserted by hand or laid on a presentationplate. Fluid is then admitted to the cylinder 16 for the piston to moveoutwardly pushing the slide 12 and shaping plate 7. Slide 12 and backcross bar 16 are so constructed that the slide 12 can move more freelythan the back cross bar 16 so that the latter remains momentarilystationary in its forward position holding the arms 17 and frame members27 outwardly so that the shaping blades 23 and 24 remain retractedduring the forward movement of the pocket shaping plate 7 over thepocket 4 and between it and a garment forepart which will have been laidon the machine work table before the template is closed down thereonto.When the shaping plate has reached its fully extended position the sideand end edges of the pocket will be projecting out from underneath theedges of the plate 7 and overlapping the edges of the retracted edge andend blades 23, 24. Continued pressure in the cylinder then forces thecross bar 16 towards the pivot rod 26 and in so doing moves the edge andend blades 23, 24, inwardly, which movement folds the edges 5 of thepocket 4 inwardly over the shaping plate 7 into their underlap position.Reverse fluid pressure is then admitted to the cylinder 10 to cause aretraction of the plate 7 followed by a withdrawal of the edge and endblades 23, 24, leaving the pocket 4 with underlapped edges 5 in positionon the garment forepart with the stitching slot 3 clear for the passageof the machine stitching needle. Stitching will commence at the free endof one U-shaped part 34 and after the needle passes right round into theshort leg of the other U-shaped part 34, there may be back stitching ateach end of the stitching line, the garment forepart can be withdrawnwith the pocket stitched in position and another pocket stitchingoperation carried out by a repetition of the aforesaid operations.

To facilitate these operations, an opening 35 is formed through theplate 2 and provided with ledges 36 for the mounting of, say, twomagnets which are provided to hold the shaping plate 7 firmly up underthe top plate 2 when a pocket 4 has been located. Also a pair of guidepieces 37 are mounted on the plate 2 for a projection on a lifting bar(which replaces the usual presser foot) on the sewing machine to passunder such guide piece at each end of the stitching line to hold thetemplate in a slightly raised position for a pocket and garment forepartto be located respectively in and under the template. These gudie piecesand lifter bar are not essential but are considered to be useful inspeeding up the use of the template and to facilitate at leastsemi-automation. The lifter bar may be manually operated, or by a fluidpressure ram or solenoid.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the template 1 can be pivotally mounted byits rod on the work table of a sewing machine or on a movable carrierwork plate 38 capable of movement during stitching operations, over thework table. When the template is raised the flexible shaping plate 7will flex downwardly to facilitate the introduction of a pocket 4thereover. The pocket may be introduced by hand or may be located on apresentation plate 39 mounted between guides 40, on the work table orcarrier plate 38, to have the work table on carrier plate 39 may belinear movements. The plate 39 may be moved by hand or by, say, fluidpressure operated means.

There is an inclined ramp 41 at the front of the plate 39 with a springloaded pocket edge setting bar 42 (hinged to the work plate) againstwhich a pocket is positioned overlying the ramp. Spring loaded pivotalfingers 43 lie over the side edges of a pocket to hold it againstlongitudinal movement by means of small underneath projections soarranged that the pocket can be pulled transversely from under thefingers. With the template raised the pocket loaded plate 39 ispresented thereto and automatically rides over and lowers the bar 42 sothat the front 25 of the plate 7 can rest on and then ride up the ramp41 under the pocket 4 when operated by its pistoncylinder unit. The saidmagnets on the top plate will automatically pull the plate 7 up to thetop plate 2 trapping the pocket. The folding blades 23, 24 may beoperated immediately or after the presentation plate is withdrawn and agarment part moved into position beneath the raised template which isthen lowered. The folding blades 23, 24, and shaping plate are allretracted and a stitching operation carried out.

The aforesaid work plate can be mounted and controlled to have movementsin its own plane to suit the profile of the slot 3. For example, thework plate can be supported on a rectangular motion guide mounting andhave a guide track slot complementary to the slot 33 with a guide rollerfollower on the throat plate of a sewing machine located in the saidslot. The needle will pass through the follower when stitching andcontrolled driving means can move the work plate in its own plane.

By using the method and apparatus according to this invention, pocketscan be correctly positioned and stitched neatly very closely to thefolded edge of the pocket. An even all round distance from the fold, sayof an inch, can be achieved.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for use in the shaping and then the profile stitching of afirst material part to a second underlaid material part, including a topretaining plate to cover said material parts, movable first part shapingmeans heneath said top plate, said shaping means having its edgeprofiled to suit the shape the said first part is to assume. said topretaining plate having a needle passage track slot profiledcomplementary to the shaping means, movable folding blade means carriedby the top plate adjacent the profiled track slot, operating means formoving the shaping and folding means relative to one another to shapethe first material part and fold its edge under the shaping means toform an underlapped edge, said operating means being arranged towithdraw the shaping and folding means leaving the shaped first partfree beneath the top plate for stitches to be inserted through bothmaterial parts.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shaping means comprises athin plate with a profiled edge to shape a patch pocket for a garment,said shaping plate being mounted to slide lengthwise under the top plateand lie under an unfolded patch pocket, and operating means on the topplate for sliding the shaping plate into and out of its pocket shapingposition.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the shaping plate operatingmeans comprise a piston and cylinder unit operated by pressurised fluidfrom a valve controlled system.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the folding blade meanscomprise a pair of oppositely located side blades and an end blade, saidside blades each being carried by a movable frame member having a camslot at one end and a pivotal axis at the other end, said cam slotsbeing adapted to move a pair of parallel slides carrying the end blade.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said frame members and slidesare operated by a pair of side arms. a movable cross bar to which therear ends of said arms are attached, the front ends of said arms beingconnected to the slides by pillars which pass up through said cam slotsof the frame members, said cross bar being provided with operatingmeans.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 in combination with a slidable pocketpresentation plate, said plate having a front ramp for the front end ofthe shaping means to slide there'up under an overlaid pocket whenrelative movement is created between said plate and said means, andpocket retaining fingers for holding the pocket against lengthwisemovement but not transverse movement when the shaping means is pickingup the pocket.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the presentation plate has anassociated front depressible pocket edge stop member, said member beinghinged below the plate and spring loaded to its upright operativeposition in front of the presentation plate so that said plate can ridethereover.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,317,817 4/1943 Silverman 223-382,880,916 4/1959 Nassef 22338 2,929,637 3/1960 Price et a1. 223383,034,458 5/1962 Bennison. 3,143,091 8/1964 Arbter. 3,216,383 11/1965B0110.

JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner

